I don't know what
it would take to capture the feel and the smell and the unique
images of the meat market and deli located in the basement of
the former Goldblatt's Department Store in Hammond, Indiana.

Once your
first visual impression made it past the rows of tripe, beef
tongue, kidneys and heart, all laid out uncovered on metal
trays, you began to realize that beyond the fragrances of fresh
slaughter, there was a wonderful aroma of baked bread.

Samples were rarely, if
ever, served since everyone who shopped there knew what everything
actually tasted like. But food items were openly displayed without
protective cover. Home freezers were not available among the working
class so fresh meats were purchased daily. What was left over was ground
into sausage for sale the following day.

You could not grow up in
Hammond, Indiana, without knowing about "babushkas", the head scarf used
by Polish grandmothers but also worn by Hammond school girls. It was the
first Polish word children in Hammond learned.

The second Polish word was most likely "duba"
or "kielbasa."

Older women in their
babushkas would frequent the basement meat market at Goldblatt's on a
regular basis. It was a time for neighborhood chats and social
opportunities.

There
was actually an active protest by customers in 1935, protesting the high
cost of meat. The movement started in the Detroit area but moved
throughout the Midwest. Housewives went to the streets and demonstrated
for lower meat prices in urban areas.